QC: Defining Disordered Eating Clearly

Ever wonder how much brain space food should actually take up? We sat down with Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani—internationally recognized internal medicine physician and leading expert on eating disorders—to draw a clear line between culturally normalized restriction and patterns that quietly erode health, joy, and trust in your body. In just a few minutes, we define disordered eating in practical terms, separate medical necessity from trend-driven rules, and offer a compassionate checklist for what “normal eating” can feel like.

Dr. Gaudiani unpacks why so many people get swept into elimination, fasting windows, and fear of “inflammation” without symptoms to justify those choices. She explains how real health is less about rigid food morality and more about consistent nourishment, satisfaction, and a low cognitive load—eating enough, often enough, with foods you enjoy, so your energy and mood stabilize. We talk about listening to hunger and fullness cues, using evidence instead of anxiety as a guide, and noticing whether your food rules expand your life or shrink it.

We also make space for complexity: IBS, chronic illness, and neurodivergence may require tailored strategies that reduce discomfort while preserving variety and adequacy. Context matters. With Dr. Gaudiani’s blend of science and compassion, you’ll learn how to assess intent versus impact, replace shame with curiosity, and take small steps that quiet the mental chatter around meals. If you’ve wondered whether you “qualify” for help, consider this your sign: suffering is enough reason to seek support.

If this conversation brings you clarity, share it with someone who needs a gentler path back to food trust. Subscribe for more concise expert guidance, leave a review to help others find us, and send in your questions so we can bring the next five-minute deep dive to your feed.

Chapters

• 0:00 Quick Connect Format And Disclaimer
• 0:40 Introducing Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani
• 1:49 What Counts As Disordered Eating
• 3:26 Diet Culture Versus Normal Eating
• 5:42 Compassionate Takeaways And CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Life moves fast, and so should the answers to your biggest questions. Welcome to Indo Batteries Quick Connect, your direct line to expert insights. Short, powerful, and right to the point. You send in the questions, I bring in the experts, and in just five minutes, you get the knowledge you need. No long episodes, no extra time needed. And just remember, expert opinions shared here are for general information and not for personalized medical advice. Always consult your provider for your case-specific guidance. Got a question? Send it in, and let's quickly get you the answers. I'm your host, Alana, and it's time to connect. Welcome back to Indobattery. Grab your cup of coffee or your cup of tea and join me at the table. Today I am honored to welcome Dr. Jennifer Gadiani to the podcast. Dr. G is an international medicine physician and one of the world's leading experts on eating disorders. She's the founder of the Gadiani Clinic in Denver, where she and her team provide compassionate, comprehensive care to people struggling with eating disorders and their medical complications. She's a certified eating disorder specialist, a fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, and the author of Sick and Beth, a guide to medical complications of eating disorders, a groundbreaking book that changed how patients, families, and even other doctors understand this illness. What makes Dr. G's work especially powerful is her focus on populations often overlooked, people living with chronic illness, neurodivergence, and complex medical needs. She brings not only world-class expertise, but also deep compassion, and I couldn't think of anyone better to help us explore today's conversation. Please help me in welcoming Dr. Jennifer Gadiani to the table. What would you quantify as an eating disordered or disordered eating? Because I think that maybe we hear these things and we think, oh, maybe it's just a challenging relationship with food. But there is some intersection there. Can you kind of explain that to us and break it down a little bit so we can understand it a little better? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 2:10

I will try because there, well, there are formal criteria for eating disorders, of course. The notion of disordered eating is very nebulous. And we have to contextualize it in the society we live in, which is so diet culture focused.

SPEAKER_00: 2:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 2:26

You know, I mean, everyone is talking about what they're no longer eating, not because it doesn't, you know, sit well with their tummy or their body, but because, you know, they think it's the right thing to do to avoid inflammation. I'm not eating this, I'm not eating that, I'm eating less of this, I'm only eating at these times of day. I mean, this is so normal-ized and typical in our society that even though I, as a very health-privileged physician who specializes in eating disorders, would be like, no, no, no, all of that is disordered eating. It's so broadly found that people might be like, hey, are you just trying to pathologize me by telling me I've got a problem? And the answer is I want to be far gentler than that, but also kind of come back to really good science about what truly healthy eating is. And I use that H-word roll roll carefully, um, because boy, is that a tricky word. What I would say is that if there aren't physical impediments to nourishing, which of course many people have, and many of your listeners have, I would say that normal eating means that you spend relatively little brain energy on what did I just eat and what I'm about to eat, and what did I eat yesterday and what will I eat tomorrow. You pretty comfortably can listen to hunger and fullness cues, and you can nourish yourself with satisfying, tasty foods in a mindful way, reasonably consistently throughout the day, without much chatter or shame or fear that revolves around these topics, and that you can fuel yourself to do what your unique body wants to do that day. I would say that is sort of broadly speaking normal eating. And therefore, theoretically, I would say that anything outside of that could be disordered. That doesn't mean judgment. That doesn't mean someone with severe IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, who has to avoid a bunch of foods is like, oh, you have disordered eating and I'm judging you. It says, gosh, you must have to spend a lot more time and energy on how to fuel yourself. And you must suffer a lot more than other people when they can just bolt down a sandwich and go back to work, and you're trying to figure out how your tummy's gonna do that day. Eating disorders, of course, have really formal criteria in the diagnostic and statistical manual fives that follow certain criteria. But I think the focus of this time is about folks who have gotten into a relationship with food in their bodies, whether or not, again, there's body image stuff involved, which let's face it, if you were human on the planet, probably there's some body image stuff involved because thin privilege is so powerful in our culture. But what I'd like to talk to is just the breadth of conditions that might lead somebody to have to spend so much time on how to feed themselves and how to deal with their body's reaction, and that they're not alone, they're not a mystery, and they can feel better.

SPEAKER_00: 5:42

That's a wrap for this quick connect. I hope today's insights helped you move forward with more clarity and confidence. Do you have more questions? Keep them coming. Send them in, and I'll bring you the expert answers. You can send them in by using the link in the top of the description of this podcast episode or by emailing contact at indobattery.com or visiting the Indobattery.com contact page. Until next time, keep feeling empowered through knowledge.